10 unlikely signature guitars

14th Aug 2009 | 15:55

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10 unlikely signature guitars

It's all about the erm, Alexanders baby

We wouldn’t expect to break olympic records wearing the same Puma running shoes as Usain Bolt, or score an obscene amount of goals just because we happen to own the same pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly football boots as Cristiano Ronaldo.

Similarly, it will take much more than an Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster to sound like old Slowhand. Just ask Pete Townshend – he plays one, and he sounds like, erm, Pete Townshend.

That said, though the phenomenon of signature gear isn’t confined solely to rock 'n' roll, it’s big business for manufacturers and artists alike. For us guitar players, it’s nice to feel that little bit closer to our idols.

Most signature instrument collaborations make perfect sense: an artist’s legion of fans clamour for their very own version of the guitar that their hero plays, complete with all the little tweaks and idiosyncrasies that set it apart from a standard production model.

Then occasionally, a signature instrument comes along that makes about as much sense as a chocolate oven glove. Here are 10 of the most perplexing…

ESP Ron Wood

Bo Diddley's facial expression sums it up, really

As a full time member of The Rolling Stones, we'd imagine it's pretty much open season when it comes to cars, booze, girls, guitars...

We can only speculate that something funny was in the 17 different types of bottled mineral water on the Stones' rider in the late eighties. Not only were Keef and Ronnie Wood seen playing Music Man Silhouettes, but Wood also collaborated with ESP on a signature model.

Excuse me! You are in THE FUCKING ROLLING STONES! Can you at least play a beaten up vintage Fender or Gibson and look the part?!

Gretsch 6123 Monkees

Try as they might, the head honchos at Gretsch could never get George Harrison to agree to an official signature model. However, in 1966, The Monkees seemed like the next best thing.

Two flies in the jangly ointment: 1) The Monkees didn't actually play their instruments at the time, and 2) Their predominantly female teenage fanbase didn't exactly break down the doors of music stores across the US on its release.

By 1968, the model was canned, yet in retrospect, in our opinion it's pretty damn cool.

Ovation DJ Ashba Demented Collection

"Piss off, Kes! I'm trying to look emo!"

At the time of writing, DJ Ashba is in Guns N' Roses. Like most of the other people in a band that's seen more members than a retired urologist, we'd be hard pushed to pick DJ Ashba out of a police line-up.

However, according to his website, that hasn't stopped him amassing an incredible 31 endorsement deals.

Gibson Robert Johnson L-1

Hard Time Posthumous Endorsement Deal Blues

Robert Johnson's life and death are shrouded in myth and mystery. Before he died and became the inaugural member of the 27 club in 1938, he couldn't have imagined that 2003 would see the release of a tribute guitar bearing his signature.

At not far shy of $3000, we probably wouldn't take this one down to the crossroads in case it rains.

Gibson Dave Grohl DG-335

We genuinely really like this guitar

Gibson recognises the best rock drummer of his generation with a signature guitar. Okay, so millions of records and concert tickets sold as a singing, guitar-playing Foo Fighter mean that Mr Grohl has surely paid his dues, but eyebrows were still raised.

Unusually, the DG-335 is also a recreation of another artist's signature Gibson, the Trini Lopez, although the various additional signatures adorning Les Pauls over the years set the precedent.